Basketball, Sports

Tech Men’s Basketball Win Back-to-Back Games

Jr. Clay rises up for a dunk after stealing the ball against EIU at Feb. 7. Clay led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 15 points off the bench. Photo by Avery Nettles.

The Golden Eagles lost a close game to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Saturday Feb. 12 61-60. The loss put an end to a two-game winning streak for the men’s basketball team.

The team has experienced the highs and lows over the past four games with two victories over Eastern Illinois, the one point loss to SIUE and an overtime thriller to Belmont. Even through the highs and lows, Head Coach John Pelphrey knows winning is about team play, and this squad is getting better at team play.

“It’s hard to get over a loss like that against Belmont. Then to come back out not even 48 hours later as a group and perform the way they did without being able to go to practice basically it’s all mental. They did this as a group, it was just not one player who stepped up and put the team on their back everybody had a hand in it,” Pelphrey said. “So they deserve much credit for their toughness, resilience, their togetherness, and for their desire to be competitors. With that being said we are excited about what lies ahead.”

John Pettway dribbles the ball down the court after Tech gets a steal from EIU. Pettway helped Tech keep the lead down the stretch against EIU on Feb. 7. Photo by Avery Nettles.

Since Feb. 1, Tech played Morehead State in an away game on Feb. 3, with Tech losing 75-68. The Golden Eagles were at home for their next game against Belmonton on Feb. 5, losing 100-92. Their next two games were against Eastern Illinois, with each team playing one home game. The first game was at home on Feb. 7 and the final score was 84-58, with Tech taking the victory. The second game, played on Feb. 10, was also a win for the Golden Eagles, with a final score of 73-62. These were Tech’s first back-to-back wins of the season, but the streak didn’t last long as they were defeated by SIUE in the following game.

Tech’s next game is against SEMO at home at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 17. Then they they’re at APSU at 4 p.m. on Feb.19. Next is Tennessee State at home at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 24. Finally, Tech wraps up the regular season at home against UT Martin at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 26. Tech’s men’s basketball team will compete in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament in Evansville, Indiana on March 2.